Friday, October 25, 2013

Before checking out the Korean Food Fair trade show, I attended a media conference and lunch. The Korean agriculture department signed a contract with Unified Grocers in the US, and I learned that seaweed is the #1 exported food product of South Korea.

Chefs Cathlyn Choi and Bernard Guillas also had a panel talking about Korean food. Chef Guillas fell in love with Korean food and even put dukbokki on the menu of his restaurant, The Marine Room in San Diego. We tried a dish he made using Korean pears: Salmon on pickled pear with sesame leaf and masago

Fellow writer Barbara Hansen winning a gift certificate to Wi Spa

There are three types of fermented food in Korea: kimchi, fermented sauces, and fermented seafood. But these can be used in other types of food. Our lunch made by Chef Myung was half "fusion" - Western style dishes made with Korean ingredients or sauces, while the other half was traditional Korean food.